July 2012, Vol. 239 No. 7

In The News

Obama Administration Shifts Support To Natural Gas

After committing early on in his term to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, President Obama has steadily increased his support for increased natural gas exploration and production, according to Bloomberg.

From the outset, President Obama has touted his energy strategy as “all of the above,” with an emphasis being placed on bringing the support for renewable energy up to that of more established technologies. Several recent decisions, however, have illustrated the growing role of natural gas in the administration’s approach. Among them, White House officials downplayed the results of an Environmental Protection Agency report faulting fracking for water contamination in Wyoming. More recently, President Obama met with several members of the natural gas industry at the White House to discuss policies for encouraging greater use of the fossil fuel.

“It took a while for the administration to realize the role it could play,” Michael Walls, vice president of the American Chemistry Council, told Bloomberg. “What we’ve seen is an evolution in thinking.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that the administration has approved the construction of 3,675 new natural gas well in Utah.